Unveiling Tara: Ashley Holliday Tavares Dives into the Role from ’My Life With The Walter Boys’

[00:00:01] Welcome to another episode of the Man Cave Chronicles. Welcome to the party, pal! You're my boy, boo! Yo, I did it! I did it! A podcast with interviews of amazing guests from the world of pop culture, TV, movies, comedy, and more. From deep inside the Man Cave, your host, Elias. Ashley, thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you so much for having me. First off, congrats. Season two just got a

[00:00:31] announced, what, about a day ago, two days ago? Yesterday. Yeah, yesterday. It's insane. Insane. So exciting. Kind of unexpected, I think. I feel like. Like, we were all, like, on pins and needles, so it's just really exciting that it actually happened. Right. So, you know, for the viewers and listeners that tune in, they can see you on My Life With The Walter Boys. Number one, also on Netflix. It is indeed, yeah. And, like, a lot of countries, quite a few countries, we're just, like, really knocking it out of the park. You know, I thought it would be number one in a lot of places.

[00:01:00] I had a feeling because it's such a relatable story, so it's awesome, but that's transferring and carrying over. So we're going to jump into the show in a little bit, too, but let's get to know a little bit more about you acting. How did that happen for you? What made you get into it? Oh, God. Well, my mom was a production coordinator, so she was basically, like, she ran, like, the production office for my entire life. So I grew up on film sets. I grew up in the entertainment industry, and every time I went to a set, I loved the energy.

[00:01:28] I loved watching people work. I loved the camaraderie. I loved craft service. I loved the teachers. Like, I just loved every single part of it, and I knew that that's what I wanted to do with my life. My mom was like, absolutely not. You're not going to be an actor. That is not a career. You will not. You know, it's a hard one to succeed, which is true, very true, but I knew, I just knew. I knew that it was a passion of mine, and I wasn't willing to let it go, so throughout life, I got into theater, a lot of theater.

[00:01:56] I went to an arts high school for theater. I went to DePaul University for theater, and that kind of just carried me over, and I, of course, throughout, had doubts. I was like, oh, maybe I should be, like, a teacher. That's a great career. Like, maybe I should do something, like, stable and wonderful that enriches children, enriches the world, and I, you know, my path just kind of always took me back to acting, no matter what I did. At one point, I tried to quit acting as a receptionist at a post-production house, and I tried to quit, and I was like, I'm not going to acting class anymore.

[00:02:25] I'm not going to do this anymore. I'm done. I'm done auditioning. And one of my mom's bosses was like, you're not done. You're going acting class, and he got me into Playhouse West. Wow. And from there, I just, I was like, oh, God, this is exactly what I want to do. So I went to my first audition, a TV audition for a show called Huge that was on ABC Family when ABC Family was a thing, and I booked that role, and since then, I've just been like, well, I can keep up now.

[00:02:50] And you mentioned, like, you grew up in the entertainment industry, too. Do you ever have any thoughts about, like, even working behind the scenes? Oh, yeah, completely. I still do, honestly. I love, crew is great. Crew is a great job to have. I've been a travel, assistant travel coordinator. I've been a PA. I've been a set PA. I've done, like, the crew side of things, too, and that life is wonderful, as well. It's so fun. It's so exciting. There's never, like, a dull moment, and people are so fun, and everybody kind of has that energy.

[00:03:17] Everybody's, like, making something, and it feels good to be a part of that. I've had guests on before, too, where they just, they love, you know, doing the acting, but they don't, like, I want to write, I want to produce, I want to, you know, whatever. And it's, like, they want to wear many hats, pretty much. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I've tried producing. I've tried my hand at that. I've tried directing. I don't, producing, yes, I'm down. I'm a Virgo. I love organization. I love getting things done. That sounds great.

[00:03:44] Directing, I don't think I'd ever, I don't think I trust myself enough to, like, guide people in that direction. It's a very big and important job. Maybe one day, though, for sure. And I've always wanted to write, so I'm hoping I'll get up the courage to do that at some point soon. What's the ultimate goal, you think, for your career? What are you hoping you get or accomplish? You know, I've always said that I want to be Stanley Tucci.

[00:04:08] I want to be an actor who is, has a great body of work and who has a great career and who people know, but you're not being bombarded on the street. You know, you're not like Harry Styles or Jennifer Lawrence. Like, you can go to the mall and people will be like, do I know, do I know you from someone? And you're like, oh yeah, maybe. You're not constantly on, on all the time. Like, I don't think I can be that person. Like, I don't wear makeup on a daily basis. I am, I frump a lot in my life, so I cannot be Jennifer Lawrence.

[00:04:37] So, Stanley Tucci is my goal. Stanley Tucci is the, is kind of the, the big one. And now he's got this like Italian cooking show. I'm like, oh God, that's all I want. Travel to Italy and cook and learn about cooking. Like, basically my life trajectory is Stanley Tucci. Might as well add that to your resume. Go for it. I really should. Start some web series or something with cooking or traveling with food or whatever. I should. I would love that because I love food so much and I love to travel. They're like one of my, two of my favorite things.

[00:05:04] And now that you mentioned, and you were mentioning about like, you know, you don't want to be bombarded everything if you're out, but like now with like a show like this, that's number one. Have you been more noticeable? Like out in the streets that people come up to you? Oh, for sure. Yeah. I've had a few of them. I was at Hugo's tacos the other day and this, uh, somebody who gave me my food was like, are you? And I was like, yeah. And then I went to Sephora to buy something. And this girl was like, you know, you look a lot like this girl on this show. I just started watching. I was like, do I? She's like, yeah. And I was like, I am her. And she was like, oh my God. And she's like, I love your show. So it's been fun.

[00:05:33] That that's fun. Like the little, like every now and then that feels great. Cause it means that people like the show and they're watching and they like what you created. The other side of that seems a little intense. And at least you have a character that's lovable and likable. Imagine if he was the opposite, you'd be getting the other way around. Like other guests on when that's happened. I've had that before. I, the show that I did huge, the first show I did, um, I was a very unlikable character. Um, and I got a lot of death threats. I got a lot of craziness.

[00:06:03] Like I'm going to hit you with my car. If I saw you, I'd spit at you on the street. And I was like, it is not fun to play the character that people don't like. It's fun to play, but it is not fun to live that life. Tara is such a joy to play. Cause she's so lovable. She's so fun. And she's so relatable. That's awesome. So yeah, let's jump into the show then. How did Tara come up? Tell us a little bit about the audition. How were your approach for this? So, uh, you know, it was like right after pilot season, I was starting to slow down and I wasn't expecting anything else.

[00:06:30] I was like ready to like get my eat on and just like live my life for a little bit. And this audition popped up and I was like, yeah, sure. Why not? I looked at, I read the sides, I read the script and I fell in love with it. And I was like, there's just no chance I'm going to get to play this part. Cause this part is too, it's too perfect for me. And I just didn't believe that kind of luck would happen. And so I did the audition and I felt so great about it, but again, was like, you know, can't, can't expect anything.

[00:06:56] Um, and I think two days later I got a call from my agents and they were like, they want to see you again. They have some notes and they just want to work it out. And I was like, okay, I can do that. So we worked it out. I've worked with casting on it and they were so wonderful and so warm. And so, um, they're so good at giving notes and direction. And we found her, I think in that session. And I found her in that session. I was like, Oh, I see who she is. So I think two days later, two days after that, I got the call that I got the job and I was floored.

[00:07:25] I was ecstatic, especially to play such a part that a part that means so much in terms of like her age and her, her story and the career that she chose. It just is so admirable. And I'm, I feel honored to be able to play that part. What was the description you were given for Tara when you first started auditioning for it? I think that said she was kind, a guidance counselor, of course, uh, kind and she, she was a little messy.

[00:07:54] I'm not sure if that was the exact wording, but like, basically like she was just kind of all over the place. And especially at that time in my life, I felt very similar to that, like very all over the place and very messy and very like, I still am though. I trip over everything. I fumble my words. Like I am just that person. So she felt so close to me already that I was like, Oh, I, if I got the chance to do this, I know I could do it really well. Did you find it easy connecting with the character after you booked it? Yeah, I really did.

[00:08:23] And also it was just so Melanie, who's our showrunner. Um, she, she's so specific about every single character and she has so much love for every single character. And my character is not in the book. Tara's not in the book, uh, the original book. Yeah. I was like, I actually wrote that down. I was going to ask you that. Yeah. Like, yeah, she's a creator, a creation of Melanie. And so I felt really honored to play it based on that, especially, but she just, she had so much information for me. And it's amazing that for a character who is supporting, you know, who's not one of the

[00:08:51] leads that she was just like, this is who you are. And I think this, and having conversations with her that allowed me to see the other side of Tara and to really kind of delve deeper into her. And I already felt very connected to her, but having all that information and all that support from, from Melanie just made it so much better. Now that you mentioned the characters on the book, did you find because of that, you kind of had your input of how you wanted to play this character too? Oh, for sure. That was kind of a wonderful thing is that I could kind of do what I want.

[00:09:19] Like, for example, uh, the very first day of shooting, when I met Melanie, uh, she came up to me and she was like, would you prefer her name to be Tara or Tara? And I was like, I've, nobody's ever asked my opinion about what my character's name, like the pronunciation. And so she's British and she has a lovely accent. And she said Tara, just like so beautifully. I was like, well, clearly it's going to be Tara now that you've said it like that. It's just beautiful. So that kind of stuff happened where I was just like, oh, I have input.

[00:09:45] And I, we did a lot of, I did a lot of improv probably to sometimes bemoaning of them. They're like, can you please quit? But, but I did a lot of that and it really felt like I kind of melded myself and Tara into, into one person, which was really fun to do. So like with this character now, is there like a challenge playing this character? Any certain things about her? You're like, hmm, let me think about how I want to do this scene or. Yeah, for sure.

[00:10:12] I think that, you know, she's, she's dedicated her life so much to kids and so much to her career and to kind of, I think encasing herself in being a person who was kind and being a person who is very aware of others. And sometimes that can really take away from her. Like she doesn't think about herself very often. I don't think. And, and that has had, I think, repercussions somewhat in like her romantic life and stuff like that. So I've been thinking, I think about that a lot.

[00:10:40] I think about kind of her path, her loneliness and, and maybe the lack of confidence she can sometimes feel. And I mean, I've, I've, of course struggled with that myself who doesn't, but like, it is interesting to not, to not play that, to have an internalized and know that you have all of this stuff happening inside of you, but on the surface have to be this affable kind person that, you know, is guiding kids through to their future. Um, so I think I struggled that a little bit.

[00:11:10] I was like, don't, don't play lonely. Don't play heartbroken. Don't play a lack of confidence. This, this girl, this woman has so much on the surface that she keeps up and she keeps it together. And all of that stuff is for when she goes home and where she can be quiet and, and, and kind of take a beat with herself. Now we mentioned, you know, season two just got picked up too. Like how would you describe her journey in season one? And what are you hoping you can see in season two? So many things.

[00:11:40] Um, so I think her journey at season one is kind of finding that confidence. Um, I think, you know, by the end, beginning, she's looking for love and not sure how she wants to find it. And Haley, her best friend is kind of pushing her towards doing dating apps and stuff. And she's like, Oh God, that's the last thing I want to do. Same. Um, so I think that her, her confidence and her ability to know what she actually wants. She starts to kind of, it starts to kind of crystallize towards the end of the first season.

[00:12:07] And I really hope that in the second season, we see her expand on that, on that confidence on, um, really owning who she is and, and, and owning her story and not being embarrassed by, you know, the very, she's very human, not being embarrassed by her humanity. And I'm also super excited to see where, you know, her little, her little love triangle goes. Right. Right. You know, also, uh, you know, um, she's also like a mentor to Jackie also throughout the series. Uh, like, uh, how would you describe that chemistry?

[00:12:37] Well, it's so easy with, uh, Nikki who plays Jackie to just jump into a scene cause she's so good and she's so committed. Um, that is extremely helpful, but I think the relationship between Tara and Jackie is one of, I mean, Jackie needs her. She needs her to help her get where she's going. And it's so important where she's going. She wants to go to Princeton. It's everything she's always wanted. And my character basically in the first episode is like, that's a time for her. That's hard.

[00:13:04] And, and you've had a really, really tragic thing happened to you and, and, and to your life. Maybe we kind of take a step back and that's really hard for Jackie. So it's an interesting kind of back and forth. She knows that Tara is there for her. She knows she's there to support her and she wants what's best for her. But what is best for her is not what she wants. It's not what Jackie wants, which what Jackie wants is, you know, to shoot right to the top, which Tara gets, but it's also when you see somebody going through something like that, you're like, ah, take a break.

[00:13:34] Take a break. Yeah. We mentioned, you know, guidance counselor and everything too. Like, did you like try to go read on like the job role of a guidance counselor to also just to. I legit did. I was like, so I know what a guidance counselor is. Like, of course I do, but I was like, what do they do? What is like their actual job position? So I went and like Googled like guidance counselor job openings to see like what the descriptions were for all of the, for all these guidance counselor positions.

[00:14:04] And they're really varied actually. It depends on the school. And so I made a decision for Silver Falls High, because it's in a small town in Colorado, to make it very like homespun, to make it very like warm and inviting. Like that's the presence that Tara has the privilege of, of handling in that school. I think like if it was a private school, like where Jackie came from, very different guidance counselor. So I kind of just molded it to, to our atmosphere into, into the town that we live in.

[00:14:34] And I know not to jump the change of subject or everything, but how many Walter boys are there? Jesus. Is there any more that we don't know about that they're going to be show up in season two? I don't, maybe who knows? That'd be great. If there's like a random, like three other Walter boys just popping in. One's from like India, one's from like Japan. There are a lot of Walter boys. And I actually, in the book, I think there are more Walter boys than there are in the show. So that's cool. And it's just a huge, big, wonderful family.

[00:15:03] I think that's one of the best parts about this show is watching this family and the cousins who are actually like, you know, one of the, one of the brothers or sister has been Parker's case. Um, it's just so great to see their dynamic and how they work with each other and how they fight with each other and solve things together and their camaraderie. And that's all because there are so many of them because they have to like navigate each other. You know what I mean? And it's, it's very cool to watch, especially watching it being shot.

[00:15:33] I didn't work a lot with the wall with the, like at the house until the very end of the show. So when we did all of the wedding stuff, I got to actually see everybody work together and everybody off camera talking to each other. And I was like, Oh, you guys are just a family. You guys have just become a family in four or five months. Like, and it's because there's so many of you, you had to, you had to kind of band together and figure that out. And they did it so beautifully. Wow. Did you, um, well, where was I going with this? I just had a good question to it.

[00:16:02] It just slipped my mind. I hate when that happens. That's okay. It was about the Walter boys too. Oh, I know. I don't want to talk about too many spoilers and everything, but like, uh, Jackie Cole and Alex, how would you describe that whole little triangle that's happening? You know, I think there's a lot of backstory with Alex and Cole.

[00:16:21] I think that they have a lot and it's so interesting because all the other brothers, like they have things, but nothing like Alex and Cole have that is, there's a longstanding tension between them. So Jackie to pop up kind of out of nowhere and completely like, you know, just kind of, what's the word I'm looking for?

[00:16:44] Or just kind of turn their lives upside down, especially because I think Jackie is such, Jackie's a character who has gone through something so horrible and so tragic. And both of them see that, you know, and Cole's dealing with the tragedy of, of, of not being able to play football anymore. And Alex is so sensitive. He wants to take care of her.

[00:17:02] So it's really interesting that they both come from an, come at it from different places, but both have that same kind of just absolute awe over this girl and, and what she's been through and how she's still maintaining herself. And she's still trying to find herself, even though she's gone through the unimaginable and that dynamic between the three of them is something else, especially off camera. The three of them together off camera is the cutest thing ever. They're so cute. They're such good friends.

[00:17:31] And it's just great to see. It's nice to see that that rivalry doesn't, doesn't mean to be screen. And they know they have a good thing going. They do. And I think they felt that. I think they felt that from the beginning, probably that like that energy, that kinetic kind of vibe and they, they, and they play their role so well. Ashby is so good at Alex and so good at making him the sensitive, sweet boy that you know you should pick because he's going to be so good to you.

[00:17:57] And Noah is so good at playing Cole at being mysterious and mean and kind of like, you know, off putting, but also handsome. And, and the, the guy, of course, you know, it's going to break your heart, but you can't help it. And so, and Nikki so beautifully plays Jackie in between all of this and navigating her new life. It's just such an interesting thing to see with the three of them. It's like, they're constantly moving parts.

[00:18:21] So like I was doing some research earlier this morning and there's already like a big following for this show and everything. Like, what are you hoping to remember out of your performance? Gosh. I, you know, I think I want. Well, I love TV. I love, I've always been obsessed with television, obviously. And I watch a lot of it. And so I, when I read this character, I was like, this is somebody that if I was watching the show, I would relate to. And I would feel comfort in this character.

[00:18:51] I would want to see her on screen and I would want to see her story and I'd want to see where she goes. And I hope that that's the way people are perceiving her. I hope that, you know, somebody sitting at home who's having a bad day can turn on this show and be like, oh, Tara's messing up all the time. Great. I can mess up too. It's okay to be human. It's okay to be messy. And I really want that kind of, I think, to be Tara's message. It's like, it's okay to be messy. It's a wild world out there. We're just all doing our best.

[00:19:20] And I know a lot of characters in my life have put a smile on my face when I've had a really bad day. And I really hope that that's what Tara does for our viewers. And you're saying that too. It's like, it's great to have these shows where, you know, like you said, you can have a bad day. You go home, you eat dinner, whatever, put kids to bed. I'll turn that show on just for an hour and you forget about everything. Absolutely. It's an escape and it feels good. It, you know, raises those serotonin levels. It just makes you feel like you have somewhere to go.

[00:19:48] Like you can't just drop everything else and have somewhere to go. And actually Noah and I were talking about this when, after the show came out, he was like, what do you think? And I was like, honestly, I love living in this show. I love living in Silver Falls. I love living in the Walter house. It feels so good. It feels so warm and comforting and lovely. And I feel like we're really lucky to have that kind of show. So we mentioned season two just got picked up. What's the word when you're going out for the next set to film? Have you said that yet? I don't know yet.

[00:20:18] Not yet. No, we don't have word on that. I mean, at least I don't have word on that yet. I would imagine sometime early next year based on weather in Calgary, because that's where we shoot it, is Calgary, Alberta, which is stunningly beautiful. But it's pretty cold and snowy until about April or May. And last time we shot, I think we started end of March and it was still snowing pretty heavily. So I imagine probably around then because it's still beautiful when it snows, but you want to like get towards that spring summer vibe as much as you can. So fingers crossed probably around then.

[00:20:48] So what's next for you there? What's in between that? What do you, any projects you're allowed to tell us about that you're working on? Well, currently, I actually just had a baby five months ago. So I'm working on her. I'm working on being a new mom, which is, it's a big job, big, wonderful job. And I also just wrapped the second season of a show called Doomlands. It's on Roku. It's an animated show. It's an adult animated show. It's definitely a departure from Walter Boyce.

[00:21:15] It is bloody and it is funny and it is wild and it is wonderful. And it's a lot of improv and a lot of just out of control storylines. I play a bouncer on a subterranean bar called the Oasis. And our creator, Josh O'Keefe, he's from Australia. And so basically it's like an homage to old Aussie movies and stuff like that. And it's very cool. I feel not cool enough to be on Doomlands.

[00:21:45] So I feel very lucky to be on it. Very lucky. That's awesome. So yeah, Ashley, let's end this by how can the listeners of yours find you now on social media, keep up with you, and hopefully they'll see pictures of your filming season two or any other project. So I'm on Instagram at the Ash Pop. And I don't have a X. What do we call it? What do we even call that? I still call it Twitter. Yeah, I don't have a currently I don't have a Twitter. So I'd say Instagram is the best way to keep up with me.

[00:22:14] And Doomland should be premiering sometime next year, too. So hopefully I'll be well, I'll definitely be promoting that because it's really fun. If that's your vibe, it's such a good show. It's hilarious. I'll have to check it out. So Ashley, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes today. This is great. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. That's a wrap. That's a wrap, everybody. That's a wrap. Thanks for listening to the Man Cave Chronicles podcast. I finally get my man cave.

[00:22:42] You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at the MCC podcast. And our website, themccpodcast.com. Until next time. Bye.